Showmanship scares me

[showgurl]

I have done fairly well in the showmanship at my county fair but showmanship at other shows seems so much harder, im almost scared to try it because i dont really know what im in for. what can i do to try to be a better showman and do well in showmanship if i get the courage to try it?

 

[MCC]

Practice showing your calf every night at home. Have someone ( dad, mom, brother, etc. ) act like the judge. Have them ask different questions covering all your bases so when you get in the ring you are able to answer with confidence. Have them walk around your calf and feel him to get him used to being handled. The more you practice setting your calf up at home the easier it will be at the show. Some calves after a while will actually set themselves up. The biggest thing you need to do right now is build confidence in yourself and your ability. Watch other exhibitors that are successful and learn from them. Listen to what the judge says you did right and what you did wrong so you can correct your mistakes. You will never get any better if you just sit on the sidelines and don't participate.

 

[vc]

As MCC stated, practice at home and enter as many contest as you can, the more you show the more comfortable you will get in the ring. Once you are confident in the ring it all will come together, if you are stressed out it will show. At county you are showing against some kids who show once a year, at the other shows some of those exhibitors have been in the ring 10 to 20 time that year. Look as at showmanship as practice for animal, go in the class with the mind set that you are going to work on presenting your animal at its best, you need to be in the right attire and present your self at your best, but concentrate on the animal just like you would in your other classes. It seems to go hand in hand, the better your animal does in their class the better you do in Showmanship and the better you do in showmanship the better your the animals do in their class.

My boys did not like to do showmanship but they did it, if for nothing else but practice for their market classes. The more they showed the better they did in both classes. It comes down to becoming confident, once you are confident you can concentrate on the task at hand, showing the animal at its best.

 

[COWgirls]

I agree with everything MCC and vc have said.  Another piece of advice that my girls followed was ... find a couple of older kids who consistently do well at bigger shows and watch them.  Try to imitate them when you practice at home.  It also helps to watch several showmanship classes and talk to someone about what you see... why the winner won, what made the difference in the top five, etc...  Best of luck to you!  Stick with it.  Perseverance will pay off.  <party>

 

[chiangus]

Echo what everyone said above you just need to get out there and do it.  I hate making speechs but I use to practice enough using my family as a live audience, I become more comfortable.

So continue to practice and you will get to where it is no big deal.

I read somewhere that a person is more scared of talking in front of large audience than dying.